Chapter 174
Chapter 174
The One Who Rages (1)
“…….”
When we gathered the next day, the Head of the Ulbushis Family handed me a crystal. It was shaped like a finely honed dagger.
“So. You asked me to make that so you could have it absorb Anger?”
“Yes.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family looked troubled. Theoretically, it wasn’t impossible. Anger was a Parasite. It was a creature with enough vitality to parasitize even objects.
“I’m saying this out of an abundance of caution, but having Anger attached to you is itself a great risk. Are you aware of that?”
“Specifically, what kind?”
I asked with a face full of curiosity. The Head of the Ulbushis Family let out another deep sigh.
“During the period Anger was attached to Canis, she couldn’t feel a certain emotion. The same was true for me.”
I tilted my head. I couldn’t understand what the problem with that was.
“Since you don’t seem to understand, let me explain. You can’t get angry in a situation where you obviously should. The emptiness you feel at such times is indescribable.”
“Was it the same for you, Head of the Family?”
“I wasn’t as severe as Canis. I was merely indifferent in ordinarily sad situations. It wasn’t that I couldn’t feel sadness at all. When my wife passed away, I was sad. But I nearly became consumed by anger at the thought that only something like that could make me sad.”
I roughly understood what he was trying to say, but I couldn’t sympathize with it. I had never been particularly swayed by emotions in the first place.
At least, not since I had been reborn here as Davide. The most I had felt was probably the emotion of fear when I saw Astral.
“It’s fortunate that it’s a negative emotion. If it were a positive emotion, it wouldn’t be strange for you to develop a mental illness. Not being happy in a situation where you should be happy, not feeling joy in a situation where you should feel joy. It isn’t something one can easily endure. And just because you absorb Anger doesn’t necessarily mean the emotion you lose will be anger. This is the first case of its kind, after all.”
Since he was saying it with such a serious expression, I couldn’t simply brush it aside. Still, I had gotten a sense of why Canis’s personality had become so twisted.
Canis was especially lenient toward herself. Since she didn’t get angry at her own conduct or thoughts, she forgave herself easily.
That was why she showed little agitation even when she behaved so recklessly.
“I see. Anything else?”
At my unhesitating question, the Head of the Ulbushis Family fell silent for a moment. The gaze of the handsome, middle-aged man with blue hair was quite burdensome.
“There are physical problems besides that, but frankly, with your body, I don’t think they would matter.”
“I see. In any case, understood.”
I said that and loosened up my body. I asked the Head of the Ulbushis Family one final question.
“There were only six things in there that could be called memories? Intense memories? One was originally Canis’s…….”
“They’re both Canis. Would you mind being careful about that?”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family said that with a slightly resolute expression. I thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“One was the death of the young Canis. Can you predict any of the others?”
“Hmm.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family sank deep into thought. Even a parent couldn’t know every single thing like that.
I hadn’t asked with high expectations either. But the Head of the Ulbushis Family held far more affection for Canis than I had thought.
“A few come to mind.”
“……A few?”
“That’s right. Once, a foreign boy came to our territory. Canis took a liking to him. So she once taught him the Empire’s common language. Of course, it ended in tragedy.”
“…….”
“Canis was happy back then. It was so adorable how she would draw out her words.”
Something as simple as that? I glanced at Anger, whose body had swollen. Anger was blankly staring up at the sky.
As far as I knew, those were the intense memories inside it. Memories that Canis had felt incomparably happy about, or memories that had left a powerful impression on her.
Come to think of it, Canis had a habit of drawing out the ends of her words when she spoke. Had that been because of this?
“And when she first learned crystal magic. That was when Canis killed someone for the first time.”
I could accept that one. The first time for anything tended to remain in one’s memory. All the more so if it was killing someone. I figured it had probably been an accident.
After meeting the young Canis, I had gotten the impression that her original nature wasn’t all that bad.
Even if she was a Canis created by copying memories, that personality wouldn’t simply disappear.
“Next was when my wife died. Those are about all I can think of.”
The Head of the Ulbushis Family had given me no fewer than three possible situations. There was no guarantee they were all correct, but I committed them to memory.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Leaving those words behind, I slowly approached Anger.
***
“Huh.”
I laughed hollowly. What I saw when I reached the second memory was the interior of the Ulbushis mansion.
I spotted two little kids blankly staring at me after I suddenly appeared. One was Canis, who seemed to have grown a little, while the other was someone from the Far East with black hair and black eyes.
Seeing exactly what the Head of the Ulbushis Family had told me left me with nothing but a hollow laugh.
“W-Who are you?”
Canis stepped forward and asked on their behalf. I was a stranger, but perhaps because the clothes I wore belonged to the Ulbushis Family, she didn’t scream or anything.
I quickly looked around. It seemed to be Canis’s room. The bed was covered in wolf-shaped dolls, and various pieces of furniture made of crystal were visible.
“Ah. Just keep doing whatever you were doing, kids.”
I said that and tried to leave through the door. Just then, someone grabbed the hem of my clothes.
When I turned around, Canis was looking up at me with a trembling expression.
“What.”
“Um. Uh.”
At my firm question, Canis stumbled over her words. Then she repeatedly glanced at the child from the Far East.
“Ah. You secretly brought him here?”
“Ah! Yes! S-So. I was hoping you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
They probably already knew all about it. I silently stared at Canis before shifting my gaze to the child from the Far East.
This was the first person from the Far East I had seen besides Aro. Even in the game, characters from the Far East appeared extremely rarely.
The game company had only said they would reveal more through DLC, leaving the place filled with countless unresolved hints.
“I won’t tell anyone, so just do whatever you were doing.”
I said that and tried to leave through the door, but Canis once again tugged hard on the hem of my clothes.
What was this brat doing now? I frowned and turned around. Seeing my menacing expression, Canis flinched.
“Um. I-I can’t.”
“Trust me? Hmm.”
I wanted to resolve things one at a time whenever possible. If this ended up eating away too much time, it would seriously interfere with my life at the Academy.
I had already told the Dream Bird to inform the members of the other Religious Orders. More than anything, I simply wanted to get back quickly and rest.
Frankly, I found this unpleasant. My neck tensed on its own, and the scales there rippled along with it.
“!”
Suddenly, the child from the Far East reacted. The boy abruptly charged at me.
“Hup!”
Canis, who was about to scream, hurriedly covered her mouth. I reacted to the sudden movement.
I grabbed the charging child from the Far East by the neck and hurled him straight onto the floor. The child from the Far East got back up without even letting out a groan.
“How! Could you! Throw a child like that!”
Canis burst out emotionally, but perhaps because she had deliberately lowered her voice, it wasn’t very loud.
I snorted. Being a noble in this world was an extremely exhausting position. Even more so for the children of nobles.
Even the Imperial Princess had faced countless assassins. Because of that, the Imperial Princess had developed such a sensitive personality that she wouldn’t even touch food unless it had been made by the Vice-Commander.
“You’re far too careless right now.”
Being a child didn’t mean one was incapable of killing someone. I muttered quietly while looking at Canis.
Canis flinched violently at my words. I watched her for a moment, then gestured toward the child from the Far East with my chin.
“That guy. Can he speak?”
“Yes……. I taught him a few things.”
“Name.”
“……Guro.”
I looked at the child from the Far East and asked. The child from the Far East spoke his name in a low voice.
I considered asking for his surname as well, but held back. I wondered if I might show mercy if I heard the surname Park.
There was no need for hesitation in a world that was only an illusion anyway.
“Right. Guro. Why did you charge at me?”
“……Those scales. I know.”
His halting speech continued. Since it sounded similar to Worden’s way of speaking, it wasn’t difficult enough that I couldn’t understand him.
At Guro’s words, I touched the scales on my neck. Canis seemed to notice them only then and looked startled.
“……A snake?”
At Canis’s words, my face twisted into a deep scowl. Canis, who had held up well until then, hurriedly fled from my utterly threatening expression.
“You dare compare them to a mere snake?”
These were scales connected to none other than Anaye. To think she would compare them to a mere snake. Rather than anger, I felt offended.
“Well, look at you.”
Guro stepped in front of Canis. Seeing him apparently trying to protect her, I let out a hollow laugh.
“I get the gist of it, so just sit quietly and play house or something. I’m busy.”
I didn’t want to stay here any longer. Saying that, I slowly pushed the door open to leave.
“……That. Spiritual Creature.”
I stopped short at Guro’s voice from behind me. I felt as though I had just heard something I shouldn’t have.
When I slowly turned around, I saw Guro wearing a resolute expression.
“Blue scales. White pattern. King of beasts.”
“…….”
Guro spoke the words in halting Imperial language. I stared at him with subdued eyes.
Blue scales and white patterns described the appearance of the scales. Then what did he mean by king of beasts?
“King of beasts. Struck by lightning.”
Only when the word lightning came out did my expression relax. That was definitely referring to Anaye.
Then that meant Anaye had made a name for herself even in the Far East. And that was the name of a Spiritual Creature, not a god.?
“What are you.”
“…….”
Even someone from the Far East wouldn’t normally know something like that. Aro, after all, had first heard Anaye’s name at the Academy.
There were various Spiritual Creatures that wielded lightning, but she hadn’t been able to connect any of them to Anaye. Yet Guro had recognized her merely from the appearance of the scales.
“What are you? A snake? Or a fox?”
“I’m snake.”
Many people from the Far East were of other races. I asked with that in mind. Guro then said he was a snake.
“I see.”
Guro’s eyes split into long vertical slits. Golden irises were revealed, and black scales gradually spread across his skin.
I nodded, while Canis jumped in surprise and backed away from Guro.
“Spiritual Creature. Help. Clan. Suffering.”
Guro asked me to help him. Hearing that, I realized something was seriously wrong. I hurriedly approached Canis.
“Magician. Black flower. Kidnap…….”
I immediately lunged toward Canis. The moment Guro uttered the words black flower, his body rapidly swelled.
Then a massive explosion erupted.
“Kh.”
My back tingled incessantly. I hurriedly activated the Circle of Reincarnation. After confirming that my stamina was slowly recovering, I checked the person in my arms.
Canis was there with a dazed expression. Fortunately, she didn’t appear to be injured anywhere.
“……What about Guro?”
“He died. More precisely, he exploded.”
I answered Canis’s question without sugarcoating it. Canis couldn’t collect herself. So this was the tragedy the Head of the Ulbushis Family had spoken about.
To think he would self-destruct. I secured Canis in my arms. The words that had come from Guro’s mouth weren’t something I could easily dismiss.
The word magician probably referred to Magus. If an organization had enough influence to extend its reach into the Far East, there was no other organization it could be.
“G-Guro.”
In the end, Canis’s eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness. Black energy surged from her body.
It was an intense memory. Who could remain rational if someone they had given their heart to self-destructed in an attempt to kill them?
I pulled out the crystal the Head of the Ulbushis Family had given me. The crystal shone brightly, then sucked in the black energy flowing from Canis’s body.
“It’s breaking.”
Once the crystal had absorbed all the black energy, the space began to shatter.
It was because Anger, the medium maintaining the space, had been extracted. I simply waited there, holding the unconscious Canis in my arms.